Process for drying liquid materials



June 10, 1930. D. J. VAN MARLE 1,762,250

A PROCESS FOR DRYING LIQUID MATERIALS Filed April 7, 1925 v 2-Sheets-Sheet 1 June 10, 1930. D. J. VAN MARLE v PROCESS FOR DRYING LIQUID MATERIALS Filed April 7, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Patented ,Iune 10,

UNITED s'r -Tss PATENT OFFICE DIRK d'ACOIBUS VAN MARLE, OF. BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BUFFALO FOUNDRY & MACHINE COMPANY, INC., OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A.GOIBEORA'IION or NEW YORK PROCESS FOR DRYING LIQUID MATERIALS Application'flled A ril 7, 1925. Serial No. 21,390.

My invention relates in general to the drying of materials and in particular to the continuous drying of liquids having solid matter in suspension. An object of my in- Vention has been to provide a process of drying materials by which the liquid material may be fed to and evenly spread over the drying surface without the possibility of objectionable building up or deposit of solid lomatters held in suspension in the fluids being handled.

Another object has been to provide a process in which there shall be a continuous flow of material in contact with a moving 7 heating surface, whereby precipitation of thesolids in the liquids being handled shall be prevented.

Moreover, my invention contemplates the flowing. of the material downwardly on an inclined plane and through a'relatively narrow aperture as it is brought in contact with the heated surface. J In'the accompanying drawings, for clearness of illustration, I have shown one form 2 of apparatus by which my invention may be carried out and by which the objects an advantages above enumerated may be accomplished. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a front elevation of the apparatus, portions thereof being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Since my invention is particularly adapted to a revolving surface, the drying apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings is of the drum type. r

The apparatus comprises a-drum 5 which is suitably mounted in bearings 6 and 7 and designed to be heated by any suitable heating medium which may be passed into the drum through the fitting 8 at one end thereof and outof the fitting 9 at the opposite end of the drum. A suitablestufling-box 10 is provided for each of these fittings, whereby they may be suitably packed.

The shaft provided at one end of the drum carries a gear 11 by which the drum isrotated. .This gear is in mesh with a pinion 12, carried by a. shaft 13, which has at its riphery o opposite end a gear 14. A jack-shaft 15 is arranged at one end of the apparatus and carries a pinion 16, which meshes with the gear 14. he jack-shaft also carries pulleys 17 by which suitable power may be applied tothe driving mechanism of the drum. The drum is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2.

Arranged at the back of the drum is a feeding pan 18 which. is inclined downwardly toward the lower side of the drum. This pan is preferably arranged at atangent with the periphery of the drum and its lower edge'is in spaced relationship therewith, whereby an aperture 19 is' formed between the forward' edge of the pan and the periphery of the drum. The-pan is held in position by means of flexible clips or supports 20, 'and'its forward end is adjustable by means of the adjusting screws 21..v By this means the width of the aperture 19 may beregulat'ed to suit various materials. The pan is provided at its rear edge with an up wardly extending flan e 22 and at its side edges with Walls 23. djacent the forward edge ofeach of the side walls 23, I provide a strip 24, preferably of'hard wood which has its forward edge shaped to conform to the periphery of the drum 5. These hard wood strips are held in contact with the pethe drum whereby the ends of the pan are effectively closed against leakage of the fluids being handled. T r

Arranged below the forward end of the feeding pan 18, is an overflow tank 25 which provides the supply of fluid to thefeeding pan and which takes the overflow from-the feeding. pan. The fluid contained in the overflow tank is conducted to the feeding pan in any suitable way, but preferably by a centrifugal pump 26. This pump has its suction side connected with the-bottom of the overflow tank 25 by means of a pipe 27. The discharge end of the pump is connected by means of a pipe 28 to a manifoldfpipe 29, arranged above the rear end of the eeding pan. A plurality of distributing pipes 30 extend downwardly from the manifold pipe '29 and into the feeding pan.

In order that the distribut on of the fluid over the surface of the drum *5 be uniform,

flow over the top of the plate 31 and thereby be more evenly distributed. So as to prevent the accumulation of solid matters'in front of this plate, it is raised slightly from the bottom of the feeding pan, thus allowing a flow of material under the same which will carry away all solid particles of the liquid.

As is customary in driers of this t e, a scraper knife 32 is provided for the rum and is held in adjustable contact therewith by means of a plurality of screws 33. An adjusting hand wheel 34 is provided for each screw.

In carrying out my process by means of the apparatus described, the fluid being treated will be pumped from the overflow tank 25 through the pipes 27 and 28 to the manifold pipe 29, whence it will flow throu h the distributing pipes 30. The fluid will t us be conducted to the feeding pan, and, due to the inclination of thispan, the fluid will flow downwardly toward theforward edge thereof, where it will pass through the aperture 19. In flowing from the distributing pipe 30, the fluid will be obliged to flow over the top of the bafile plate 31, whereby the fluid will be evenly distributed by the time it reaches the aperture 19. Some of the fluid will also fiowunder the lower edge of the bafiie plate, which will keep the solidparticles of the fluid in suspension and prevent their accumulation in front of the baflle plate. As the surface of the drum is brought in contact with the fluid flowing through the aperture 19, it will pick up an even layer of fluid from the top of the fluid body, while the molecules'lying underneath the top surface will flow throu h the aperture thus making it impossible for any stagnant fluid to exist in which precipitation could occur. The molecules of the fluid body lying under the upper surface are,'therefore, always kept in circulation, since the pan over which the fluid is flowed, is formed and inclined in such a manner that no pockets, recesses, or depressed portions exist. The liquid whichis taken up by the heated surface will be dried and evaporated on the surface of the drum as it is rotated, the s eed of the drum and the temperature of t e I heating medium being so governed that the .solid matters carried by the liquid will be dried by the time they reach the scraper knife 32,

which will remove them from the surface of the drum.

While I have shown but one form of apparatus for carrying out my process, it is obof forming 'vious that it is not limited to this specific form but that it may be successfully carried out by other means.

Having thus described my invention, what ,I claim is:

2. A process for drying liquid materials" on a heated cylindrical surface, consisting of moving the cylindrical'surface in one di rection, forming the liquid in, arelativelyv thin sheet,'and uninterruptedly flowing the liquid sheet in an opposite direction in an inclined path and tangentially to the cylindrical surface.

3.. A process for drying liquid materials on a heated cylindrical surface, consisting of forming the li uid in a relatively thinsheet, flowing the iquid in a downwardly inclined path, which is arranged tangentially to the heated surface, bringing the top surface of the sheet of liquid in contact with the heated surface, and allowing an uninterrupted flow of the liquid which does not come into contact with the heated surface,

whereby all molecules of the liquid except those taken up by the heated surface are kept in constant-circulationand precipitation is thereby prevented.

4. A process for drying liquid materials on a heated cylindrical surface, consisting of forming the liquid in a relatively thin sheet, uninterruptedly flowing the liquid sheet in an inclined path, then flowing the liquid downwardly and tangentially to the cylindrical surface, and allowing the surplus liquid to drop away from the inclined path.

5. A process for drying liquid materials on a heated cylindrical surface, consisting of forming the liquid in a relatively thin sheet, uninterruptedly flowing the sheet of liquid in a downwardly inclined path, allowing the bottom surface of the sheet of liquid to V constantly flow over the inclined path, and bringing the top surface of the sheet of liquid in contact with the heated surface.

6. A process for drying liquid materials on a heated cylindrical surface, consisting of flowing the liquid in a downwardly inclined plane, bringing some of the liquid in contact with the heated surface, and then allowing all of the excess liquid which is not taken up by the drum, including the bottom surface of the liquid, to flow uninterruptedly over the inclined plane.

7. A process for drying liquid materials on a heated cylindrical surface, consisting of movin the heated surface in one direction, flowing the liquid in a downwardly inclined path in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the heated surface,

bringing sofne of the liquid in contact with the heated surface, and then allowing all (if the excess liquid which is not taken up' by the drum, including the bottom surface of the liquid, to flow uninterruptedly over the inclined plane.

8. A process for drying liquid materials on a heated cylindrical surface, consisting of moving the heated surface in one direction, forming the liquid in a relatively thin sheet, uninterruptedly flowing the sheet of liquid in a downwardly inclined path in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the heated surface, allowin the bottom surface of the sheet of liqui to constantly flow over. the inclined path, and bringing the top surface of the sheet of liquid in contact with the heated surface.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

DIRK JACOBUS VAN MARLE, 

